Monitoring performance of a communication link is used, for instance, for proactively addressing and preventing user complaints, for deciding when to upgrade hardware associated with the communication link, for deciding when to trigger an optimization algorithm to optimize the communication link, for verifying that the optimization algorithm has indeed resulted in improved performance, etc.
The term “performance” herein refers generally to network throughput (e.g., TCP/UDP), latency, jitter, connectivity, error rates, power consumption, transmit power, etc. Improving performance of the communication system includes increasing throughput, reducing error rate and latency, improving jitter, power consumption, etc. for the communicating system. Monitoring performance generally refers to determining and/or calculating one or more of the above performance parameters associated with the communication link. The term “TCP” stands for transmission control protocol. The term “UDP” refers to user datagram protocol.
Communication system performance can be evaluated using traditional testing software applications such as iperf, netperf, ttcp, etc. Such software applications need to be installed on at least two communication devices where the software application on one communication device generates and transmits test data to the other communication device, and where the software application on the other communication device receives the test data.
After transmitting and receiving the test data, statistics of the test data transportation is evaluated to assess the performance of the communication link between the two communication devices. Testing of a communication system or network to gauge its performance via such traditional testing software applications requires compatible software applications to be installed or to be available at both communication devices that form the communication link.
For example, a user with a laptop visits a performance testing web site, and subsequently a testing software application is loaded to the user's web browser. Then the performance between the laptop and a server in the internet is measured using the testing software application that was already available at the server.
In some cases, however, it can be difficult, if not impossible, to have testing software applications available at both communication devices that are at the ends of the communication link of interest. For instance, when a network manager is interested in initiating a performance measurement from a Wi-Fi Access Point (AP) to a smart-phone, the network manager does not have any means to install a software application to the smart-phone. Therefore, the network manager cannot initiate performance measurement between the Wi-Fi AP and the smart-phone. In general, it is difficult to have applications available at communication devices coupled to a network or to initiate user-side installation of software applications as a network manager.